Soulful Expression

Once we saw two guitarist on the stage, from different countries, the one from US, will rock his body back and forth while playing, with some head twisting, and standing on toes and stuffs.

The other Asian guitarist, just looked at the fretboard, and play.

My friend told me, see, the asian guitarist is not as good as the US one, he is just practicing, not really playing from his heart!

Do you judge people playing from just looking at they way they play? Would you have prejudice if they just stood there and play? I know most Saxophonist have very little movements during performance compared to guitarist and bassist and drummer.

I have a DVD of a concert in which one guitarist is making the most exaggerated guitar faces you'll ever see, and jumping around a bit. He's playing nothing too complicated but the way he looks, it seems like he's trying to make it look hard. It looks so fake.
On the other side of the stage, Guitarist B is playing some more difficult stuff. But he's standing there and not exaggerating his faces, just looking very cool and in control. The bassist is very much like this too, even when playing difficult solos.

It's much more impressive to make hard stuff look easy than to make easy stuff look hard.

By the way, these guys were backup musicians. What Guitarist A was doing was, in my opinion, unprofessional. Maybe it would be okay during a solo, but tone it down when the singer is singing.

Of course, in the situation first described in this thread, it seems that the American guitarist wasn't doing anything too over the top, but it just looked like he was more "into it." That's fine, and so is the approach that the Asian guitarist took. It all depends on how the music sounds.

Of course, in the situation first described in this thread, it seems that the American guitarist wasn't doing anything too over the top, but it just looked like he was more "into it." That's fine, and so is the approach that the Asian guitarist took. It all depends on how the music sounds.

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Hehe, the First guitarist which I described is actually Andy Timmons! But I woulnd't want a reply based on the name, so I did not mention his name.

When I first describe the thread, the sound of the two guitarist are almost equal, and I am just talking about their way of expressing themselves on stage.

I do know that most of the performing pianist (which I have seen), especially in solo (as in one piano, not soloing in a song) playing, does have some "wicked" expression and some "jerking" body movement!

Just stand up there and be yourself! Get into the music. Feel it. Uh...Be it? I try to get into it and do a powerstance thing while looking at the fretboard, headband, or or do something that I'd normally do....like trip and fall.

I am the bassist and lead singer of a Soul,classic rock band. I make alot of facial expressions and move around alot. Not the 80's rock poses or anything, I just dance, and move around. The reason I do all of this is I want to make people in the club aware of what the bass is doing, whethers its to let them know the emotion that this song is representing, or the energy of something funky. I hate to see a band that is not at least somewhat entertaining. You dont go see a live band just to hear, you can listen to the radio for that, you see a "live" band for a show. And whether I look good, cool, sexy, stupid, or retarded, ....theyre watching, and enjoying the show. We as bass players need to make people more aware of our role, were not just in the background, we are the foundation, we provide the groove they tap their feet to. What other instrument can change to entire feel of a song, than a bass by simply letting the note sustain a little longer, muting another, and if I use facial expressions to exagerate something I am playing, then maybe they will get it...and it works. Of course it helps that I am doing most of the singing so I am in the front, but none the less, why be limited to being only a musician, when you can also be a story teller, a motivater, a mood changer, and an entertainer.

John Myung does amazing riffs and just stands there.
I seem to be doing the same thing, and I just walk around a bit. Even when I was told to play in my good friend's band, (it was those kind of rock bands where bass does full support) And I just stood there lookin' bored. We ended up winning anyway. Bleh >.<

Stage presence and showmanship are one thing. Channeling music and letting it guide how you move or look is another thing.

Neither have much to do with the talent of playing music itself, but all other things being equal... two things I don't want to see as a fan are (A) a guy trying too hard to look like he is feeling the music, and (B) a guy staring down his fretboard for two hours.